May Day (May 1) is recognized around the world as International Workers’ Day. It is a day to celebrate the struggles and actions that organized labor has taken to gain workers’ rights, which include a living wage, an eight-hour workday, workplace safety, the right to organize, collective bargaining, and equal pay as well as other benefits. It is also an annual reminder that our struggle for our rights and justice must continue. In the form of “mayday, mayday, mayday,” it is the international radio distress signal used by aircraft and ships to indicate a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate help. 

Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution (FCCPR) and others are holding a one-hour rally on the Greenfield Common at noon on Friday, May 1, to call for justice, for an end to the authoritarian takeover of our democracy, and for the end of the attacks on our health care, our jobs, our neighbors, and our communities. This is a time of extreme distress, and it will take all of us to answer the call. Please join us to add your voice to our collective call for justice.

Our rally in Greenfield (followed by a 4:30 p.m. rally in Holyoke) joins hundreds of other rallies across the country. Our demands are clear:

  • Stop the billionaire takeover by and rampant corruption of the Trump administration.
  • Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs working people rely on.
  • Fully fund public schools, health care, and housing for all.
  • Stop the attacks on our communities, including policies targeting immigrants, people of color, Native people, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Some groups holding rallies around the country are calling for no school, no work, no shopping. We are urging people to get involved in whatever way they can, knowing that many local businesses are struggling to survive, so closing might not make sense for them. Perhaps they can put signs in their windows urging folks to shop locally, to avoid the large corporations that are bringing so much harm to so many. Students and teachers may not feel safe or able to walk out during their school day, but perhaps they could have classroom discussions about what is happening in the country (in upper grades) or activities focused on how to be good friends and cooperators (in lower grades).  

What is most important is that we keep building on the momentum from No Kings 3, on March 28, when nearly 4,000 people locally and more than eight million nationally rallied to say “NO!” to fascism, “NO!” to authoritarianism, “NO!” to violence from the administration, “NO!” to detentions and deportations, and “NO!” to an illegal and immoral war that has led to the deaths and injuries of thousands of innocent people, the spiking of prices, and the loss of any claim to moral leadership around the world. The only thing that can stop an authoritarian takeover of our government is an organized, united public that stands together to say: “NO! We will not let you continue to lie to us, steal from us, bully us, and ignore the rule of law that is the foundation of this country.” Every one of us is needed in this struggle.

Come join us on May 1 at noon on the Greenfield Common, and let your voice be heard!

Doug Selwyn is a member of the Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution coordinating committee.  He also writes a monthly column on education for the Recorder.